Never say die
by Jocose
Summary: When an alert for Torchwood four triggers in the hub,Jack and Gwen go to track it down, and find more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

Jack marched through the side entrance of Torchwood three, glancing, briefly, towards the rolling door, with the metal gates firmly closed in front of it. He paused, then turned, waiting for the others to catch up with him.

The hub was quiet, no constant clicking from her keyboard, as Toshiko worked away on some programme or other. His gaze wandered reluctantly towards her workstation, the chair was tucked neatly out of the way, the desk top was uncluttered. Blue and white images, generated by the computer, swirled idly across the bank of monitors.

There was no familiar sound of swearing, echoing around the walls of the autopsy room, jumbled up with rhythmic, metallic tapping, as Owen Harper idly knocked a scalpel against the edge of the autopsy table. No random humming and mumbling to himself, as he worked.

Jack stood, engulfed by the silence. The worst part of all this, the familiar footsteps that he found himself listening for, their sound would never come back- lost with their owners. They would be pushed into the lumber room of his memories, along with all the others, where they would fade away.

He closed his eyes, how many more? He wondered vaguely, how many more before...

The sound of someone approaching, echoed down the corridor, bringing his thoughts back to the here and now. Jack gulped, and took a deep breath, time to start all over again.

Martha appeared in the doorway and smiled at him, "Sorry about that... that security door never liked me when I was here before!"

"If you ask me, the whole lot needs binning-it's ancient!" Mickey grumbled, clearly peeved that a little box on the wall had seen fit to refuse him access to where he wanted to go. "And how old is that!" he enquired, flipping the casing of the red warning light with his finger.

Jack smirked, "I take it, it wouldn't let him in either?"

Martha shook her head and laughed, "Well, it eventually saw the light, and let me in. It was his own fault, he would insist on checking that his swipe card worked as well as mine."

Mickey puffed out his cheeks and shrugged, "There's definitely something wrong with your system-needs a complete overhaul," he grumbled, the embarrassment of being stuck outside the door, and eventually having to let Martha use her swipe card to let him in, still fresh in his mind.

Jack and Martha exchanged amused glances, "I wouldn't say that too loudly if I were you, it might not like it," Jack said, shaking his head.

"It's a computer system," Mickey said, wearily, "Inanimate object," he added, fed up of people who insisted on giving machinery a personality.

"That's what Owen said, when it refused to give him his swipe card back," Jack laughed, "He should **never** have hit it with that crowbar!"

Martha winced, then mouthed the words "Crowbar?" at Jack, who nodded and smirked.

"He ended up having to use the Tourist Information entrance for the best part of a week! 'course the lift was fine- until he swore at it... then it kept stopping between floors!" Jack shook his head, laughing at the memory of Owen, arriving red faced and bruised, from constantly colliding with the rough metal panels of the lift walls.

"I take it, he decided to use the stairs after that?" Martha asked, then raised her eyebrows enquiringly, "Or did it have other ideas?"

Jack grinned back at her, "How did you guess? I prefer to think that the light going out, when he was coming down the stairs, was due to dodgy wiring."

"Was he alright?" She asked, concerned.

Jack nodded, "You know Owen, he bounces very well," he said, laughing, "I took him to X-ray, he demanded more lead shielding than all the Apollo rockets put together."

"You know what us doctors are like, when we need a hospital," Martha murmured, glancing around the floor of the hub.

"He could have survived a nuclear..." Jack's smile vanished, blinking rapidly, he turned away from her, the realisation of what he had just said, suddenly hitting home.

Martha touched Jack's arm lightly, then looked desperately towards Mickey. Clearly taking the hint from Martha, that a change of subject was needed, Mickey announced loudly, "Blimey! You weren't kidding . This place is _weird_."

Jack took a rather shaky breath, straightened his back, then marched purposefully towards the steps, turned back to face them, he grinned as cheerfully as he could, then announced, "Welcome to the hub."

"Bit old fashioned," Mickey murmured, staring at the rolling door, "Made in Wales," he read out from a metal plate attached to the centre of it. "Where does that go to?" he enquired, nodding in its general direction.

"Up top, there's a lift and emergency stairs," Jack told him.

Martha looked around her, "Could be worse, " she glanced across at Jack.

Jack nodded, "Yep," he murmured, sighed and forcing himself to smile back at her added, "Gwen should be around here somewhere."

"Hello," he yelled, his voice echoing around them, "Anybody home?" When no one answered, Jack shrugged, "Apparently not!" Then laughed, as a high pitched scream filled the air.

Mickey ducked instinctively, as something dived towards him, screaming excitedly, "What the..."he yelled, cowering against the gates, arms around his head, then hearing Martha laugh, he realised he had over reacted somewhat, and stood up, glancing nervously towards the ceiling.

Pointing upwards, he mouthed the words, "**What** was **that**?"

"Pterodactyl," the other two said in unison.

"Yeah, course it was, I'll believe you... millions wouldn't," Mickey grumbled to himself.

"I think maybe it's time we got a little work done?" Jack said, cheerfully, climbing the steps to the platform, "This way, lady and gentleman."

"Looks like this one is up and running," Jack said, peering at the workstation that had once been used by Toshiko, then looking towards Mickey, added, "Why don't you make a start here, then check out the others later?"

Mickey nodded, pulled off his jacket and dumped it over the back of the chair, then turned his attention to the keyboard and the bank of screens surrounding it.

"I suppose I should go and check out the autopsy room," Martha said, looking sadly at Jack, who nodded, and turned away.

"_Martha_!" Gwen rushed towards her, delighted to see her again.

Martha turned and smiled, the two hugging each other, "How are you?" she asked, concerned.

Gwen look a deep breath then shrugged, "Okay, I suppose, the Daleks did us a favour, in a funny kind of a way," she murmured. "We came out fighting... had to," she added.

Martha nodded, "I know what you mean!"

"_So_," Gwen sighed, "You're our new doctor?"

Martha hesitated, "Temporarily."

Gwen looked surprised, "Oh? I thought..." She glanced towards Jack's retreating back, but didn't call out to him, instead she looked back at Martha.

"Who's he?" Gwen murmured, nodding towards Mickey.

Martha smiled, "That, is Mickey," she said, then yelled across to him, "Mickey, this is Gwen."

Mickey looked vaguely in her direction, waved his hand briefly and then looked back at the monitor in front of him, transfixed by what he was watching.

The two women laughed, "Give him a couple of days and he'll suddenly start complaining because you haven't been introduced," Martha said, shaking her head, "Men!"

"Tell me about it!" Gwen replied, shaking her head and looking up at the ceiling.

They walked together to the top of the autopsy steps, Gwen stopped on the landing, and watched as Martha went down into the work area.

Stopping at the end of the autopsy table, Martha touched it absently, she sighed, then looked up at Gwen.

"It's funny, I didn't know him for very long, but all this still feels like his!"

Gwen folded her arms tightly across her chest, "I still keep expecting to see him in here," she murmured, "Same with Tosh, out there," she nodded towards the work stations behind her. "Every time something doesn't seem to be working..." Her voice trailed away.

"How's Ianto?"

Gwen shrugged, "Alright- I think. It's not always easy to tell, " she paused, biting her lip, "He should be back soon," she added, not looking at Martha.

Martha nodded, "Considering everything... maybe it would be best to start with a medical?" She glanced enquiringly up at Gwen, who looked relieved that she hadn't had to go into too much detail about him.

. . . .

Mickey was just about to relax, satisfied that he had checked what seemed to be the most important files, when an alert box flashed up, closely followed by the sound of a high decibel alarm.

Jack sprinted out of his office, and Gwen almost collided with him as she ran from the autopsy landing.

Mickey turned towards them, his hands in the air. "What the hell is that?" he demanded, then moved back to the keyboard, hit a selection of keys, swore and then looked at Jack. "It's locking me out," he wailed in frustration.

"It's okay, " he looked towards Gwen,"It's the Torchwood four alert."

"What's Torchwood four?" Mickey asked, still trying to access the alert information.

"Long story, basically it disappeared!" Jack commented, trying to see how much information was being displayed. Pushing Mickey to one side, he input his personal access codes,"This needs me to deal with it... sorry."

Mickey looked puzzled, "How come?"

Jack shrugged, "It's for everyone's peace of mind," he said, evasively.

"I usually have access to everything," Mickey said, pointedly, looking at Jack, obviously expecting him to agree.

"Not here," he replied, looking straight back at him, and leaving Mickey in no doubt, that he would only get to see what Jack gave him clearance for.

Mickey shrugged off Jack's comments, but his expression clearly showed his determination to crack the system, and get full access, with or without Jack's approval.

Jack cancelled the alert, then turned to Gwen. "I think maybe we should go take a look... Ianto shouldn't be long, you'll be okay 'til he gets back?" he asked, turning towards Mickey, who nodded vaguely, his interest clearly focused on the computer.

"Come on, we'll go and see what's happening," Jack paused, then yelled, "Martha... we've got to go out and check on something, you okay down there?"

Martha's voice echoed up towards them, "Yeah, fine, see you later."

Leaning towards the keyboard, Jack hit several keys, "Right, that should send the information to the SUV, Mickey... when it updates, can you patch it through?"

"Yep, no problem," Mickey confirmed, taking over the keyboard.

Jack headed across the hub, "Gwen, where are you?" he yelled, breaking into a trot.

"Coming," she responded, grabbing her coat from the hook, and following him towards the garage.

. . . .

Jack steered the SUV into the curb and looked across at Gwen, watching as she attempted to access information from the tiny computer that she held in her hand.

"Anything?" he enquired, not feeling all that hopeful.

Gwen shook her head, "Not much, the signals all over the place, it keeps trying to update, then it..." she sighed, then stared at it, "Hang on..."

Jack's eyebrows raised slightly, "Well?" he asked.

"Hang on... A465," she said, waiting for the map to update, "And we're heading for a place called... Llancillo, although..." she paused and held the small computer towards Jack, so he could see what was displayed on it's screen.

"I hope your going to tell me that line is a road?" Jack said, peering at it, not entirely convinced.

"Oh yes- definitely,"Gwen confirmed, nodding her head enthusiastically, then peering nervously at the screen, she murmured, "Probably."

Jack sighed, glanced at a nearby road sign then back at the readout, "Well one of them has to be right... I hope!" He murmured, as he drove the SUV back onto the road and hit the accelerator.

Gwen glanced at the speedometer, "Erm, I don't like to worry you but..."

Before she had time to finish, Jack hit a button on the dashboard, blue strobing lights, flashed around the windscreen, and an alarm wailed loudly.

"Torchwood four probably won't be around for very long, we could already be too late, " he said, twisting in his seat as he attempted to change lanes. "Move, dammit," he growled, hurtling up to the car in front and then thumping the horn.

The car moved reluctantly out of his way.

"Finally!" Grumbled Jack, then accelerated hard and raced the engine of the SUV, leaving all the traffic in his wake.

. . . .

Gwen and Jack stood together in a narrow country lane, ditches on either side of them, Gwen had turned her computer off minutes before, when it had finally refused to display anything at all.

She watched Jack as he paced up and down, getting more and more frustrated at the loss of the signal from Torchwood four.

"Damn it!" Jack spun around, trying to get a clear signal from his wrist strap, "Too much interference... must be the leyline."

"Thought those things were supposed to be a fantasy," Gwen said, surprised.

"Nope, they're a weak magnetic current most of the time, just guidance really, but it looks like all the planetary movement has created a problem," he sighed and gave up, the chances of getting any usable information from it, were non existent!

Gwen looked down into a ditch at the side of the road, there was a pile of paper under what looked like a filing cabinet drawer.

"Some people will dump stuff anywhere," she murmured, then stared, a logo on the top of one of the pieces of paper seemed familiar! "Jack!" she yelled jumping down into the ditch.

Jack turned, then sighed, "What have you dropped?" He grumbled.

Gwen straightened up, waving one of the sheets of paper at him, then said, "Nothing, as matter of fact... this familiar?"

Jack stared at the letterhead, with it's honeycombed 'T', and a large number in the background, "Torchwood four!"

"Yep," Gwen reached up, waiting for him to grab her hand and haul her back out of the ditch.

"Looks like were definitely in the right place," Jack murmured looking around him, "If they had to reappear anywhere I suppose this would be as good a place as any-doubt if anyone would notice."

Gwen wondered up the road, then stared at something, "Well someone must come up here, there's a church!"

Jack caught her up, and they pushed open the gate to the church yard. "Would've thought the only congregation they'd get up here would be sheep!" he murmured, all he could see for miles around were fields.

"Well, well, Captain Jack Harkness, **what** a pleasant surprise!" A familiar voice suddenly announced from behind them.

**to be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

Jack turned quickly and stared, "Bilis Manger!"

Bilis smiled, "I'm flattered you remember me, after all this time."

Gwen moved angrily towards him, but Jack grabbed at her arm and stopped her from going any closer. Gwen pushed against him, then yelled towards Bilis, "You killed Rhys!"

"Well, technically dear I suppose so, but he didn't stay dead, now did he... your friends saw to that," he peered towards Jack's forehead and pursed his lips, then sniffed and murmured, "Oh well, never mind," to himself, then turned away from them.

Torn between letting Gwen get her hands on Bilis and attacking the man himself, Jack glared at his retreating back, shouting after him, "What the hell have you done with Torchwood four?"

Bilis sighed and turned back, "Why on earth do you presume it was something to do with me?" He asked, wearily,"You **should** be asking whoever decided we needed a change of view."

"Torchwood four disappeared long before, and you know it!" Jack glared at him, then realising that Gwen had calmed down, he released his grip on her.

Bilis sighed, they really were like dealing with children an awful lot of the time. Every single little thing had to be explained or they just couldn't seem to grasp the concept-sometimes even then they didn't managed to understand even a part of it!

"Captain Harkness, if I was to tell you, that your comrades in Torchwood four, were playing with something that I warned them not to, and that their disappearance was a direct consequence of it, what would you say?"

Jack stared at him uncertainly, he was never sure how much Bilis could be trusted, a lot of the time what he said could be described as a half truth- if you were feeling generous, the rest of the time...

"Like what, exactly?" Jack demanded

"Oh.. I don't know, like... a matter transport device, that they had scavenged from an emergency pod, for example." Bilis murmured, "Of course I did tell them the risks, fat lot of good that did!" He sighed, clearly reconciled to the fact that no one ever took any notice of him.

"Alright, Bilis, fine. I'm sure we can discuss that later, right now what I really want to know is... what the hell are you doing in the middle of a field, the wrong side of Offa's Dyke?" Jack raised his eyebrows enquiringly and waited.

Bilis sighed, "When the Earth moved, so did Torchwood four, it dumped us here, and then phased out completely- probably the time variation that did it... I take it there **was** a time variation involved?"

Jack nodded, then realised something, "You said _us_?"

"Unfortunately, I had to try and put something right... yet another of your meddling projects," he glared at Jack, "And I was using Torchwood four as a safe base, while I sorted things out," he sighed. "Then time phased, and all I could do was put him into a bubble, to try and keep him intact."

"Him?" Jack asked, he was getting increasingly annoyed with Bills's insistence on talking in riddles.

Bilis waved, vaguely, in the direction of a clump of trees. "Over there, somewhere."

Jack closed his eyes, for heaven sake, wasn't he ever going to answer a question?

Gwen, meanwhile, had wondered off towards the trees Bilis had indicated. Preoccupied with avoiding a patch of nettles, she then looked up and stared in amazement!

Several yards in front of her, stood a shape. The air immediately surrounding it seemed to shimmer, almost as if it was generating its own personal heat haze. The shape turned, then moved towards her, the hazy barrier that surrounded it, moved too. As it got closer, the shape became clearer, it was definitely a human, but it had a strange, disjointed, look. A split second later, she realised who it was.

"Oh my God! **Owen**!"

Jack turned away from Bilis, then sprinted towards Gwen, "Owen?" He gasped in amazement.

"Didn't I say?" Bilis said, casually. "A real pain in the arse he turned out to be, he never shuts up."

Gwen stared, wide eyed, as Owen smiled vaguely at her, at least she thought that was what he was doing, his face seemed fragmented. When his expression changed, it was as if she was watching the various pieces readjusting their position.

Jack's delight suddenly turned to anger, "What the hell have you done to him?" He demanded, moving threateningly towards Bilis, who held up his hands in front of his face and backed away.

"It's a time bubble- well at least he's alive!" Bilis yelled back, defensively.

"Alive? You call that... alive," Jack responded, pointed towards Owen.

"Oy! I'm not a bloody goldfish in a bowl," Owen grumbled, moving slowly forward.

Jack watched with morbid fascination, as the tiny, pixilated pieces, that made up Owen's face, rearranged themselves, they were always slightly slower than his words. When he stopped speaking, the fragments that made up his face, continued to move.

"Sounds alive to me," countered Bilis, moving towards Owen in an attempt to manoeuvre him between Jack and himself.

"And would somebody mind explaining how I ended up with grass in here?" Owen added, leaning over and apparently looking at his feet.

Bilis watched him, wearily, "There's no pleasing some people," he snapped back.

Owen straightened up, "Yeah well, I bet you lot wouldn't exactly be a ray of sunshine either, if you'de ended up inside this," he grumbled, "Get me out of this sodding thing Bilis, it's driving me nuts."

"How **do** we get him out of that?" Jack asked, glancing across at Bilis.

"Oh, I can do that any time dear," Bilis said airily, "The problem is, when I do, his body will lose what little integrity it has left."

Gwen bit her lip, "You mean, if that opens up..."

"The remaining fragments disintegrate, leaving just his... _essence _behind," Bilis murmured.

"So he would be dead," Gwen muttered.

"Not entirely," Bilis said, sighing, "Sadly we would still be stuck with his voice."

Jack shook his head, "But, if his body goes, then how..."

"Because someone, **Captain Jack Harkness**, saw fit to provide his essence with an energy source, and also a means of moving around, and as neither one is dependent on the other," he paused, waiting for them to understand what he was telling them.

"Oh God!" Gwen mumbled.

"Unfortunately dear, no, so we're still left with the original problem." Bilis said, archly.

Jack pursed his lips and looked uncertainly at Bilis. He seemed to be telling him in a round about way that Owen's physical body, was completely separate from everything else that he thought of as being Owen.

"So he's like someone driving around in a car?" He suggested, uncertainly, "His... _essence _can just get out of one body and into another?"

"Not exactly, he only belongs in one body, his own, and that is slightly," Bilis paused, "Below par, at the moment."

"So what _exactly_ were you going to do?" Jack asked.

Bilis sighed, "Well, before somebody decided to play_ lets move the planet, _I was going to take Owen from the reactor- where he should never have been in the first place, by the way," he looked accusingly at Jack,"Get him back to Torchwood four, then use their equipment to boost mine and get him back to a point where he could avoid getting shot, and then his new timeline would move off to a nice new future."

"Change his future?" Gwen stared at Bilis, not sure if she could believe him.

Bilis winced, "Yes, dear, which is why," he glanced briefly at Jack, "I needed Torchwood four, and now I need you."

Jack shook his head, "Well we've nothing even remotely like what you say Torchwood four had," he said, uncomfortable at having to give any information, however vague, to the other man.

"Yes, I am aware of that, I'm not a complete ignoramus,"Bilis said impatiently, "But I presume you got here by some form of transport? I need to get laughing boy back to the place he was shot."

Gwen looked disdainfully towards Bilis, "Transport? since when does someone with the ability to step through time, need four wheels to get about?"

"Since I got dumped in the middle of nowhere, along with an impediment," he grumbled, glaring towards Owen.

"I hate to sound picky," Owen said, suddenly joined in with the conversation," But I'm starting to feel seasick watching my hand moving around like this, do you think that someone could possibly manage to make a decision, about what the fuck your going to do next?"

"For once, I have to agree with him," Bilis murmured, then turning towards Jack added, "I presume you would be willing, to offer us transportation?"

Jack sighed and shrugged, then glanced towards Owen, who seemed to be attempting to stand with his hands behind his back. The resulting image wasn't pleasant, as his fractured body moved nauseatingly back and forth, not helped by the shimmering shell that surrounded him.

"How long can he be kept like that?" he asked, turning back towards Bilis, who was simpering over Gwen, and murmuring something about Rhys.

Bilis reluctantly turned his attention towards Jack, "How long?" he sighed, "Well, pretty well indefinitely, I suppose," he murmured, glancing back towards Gwen. "You know my dear," he leaned closer to her face, then nudged against her ear, "You could be so much more, you have the potential to..."

"Bilis," Jack yelled, grabbing his arm and manhandling him away, then pulling him around so that he faced him.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Bilis growled, breaking Jack's hold on him, then dusting himself down.

"How long, Bilis?" Jack demanded, glaring at him.

"How long before what's left of his body disintegrates once the bubbles gone, or how long has he got before his essence goes the same way?" Mumbled Bilis. Scratching a mark on his jacket with his finger nail, he then tutted, licked his finger and tried again.

Jack clenched his fists, then pulled his arms tightly against his body, the temptation to grab the other man, and then slowly batter him into a pulp, was growing by the second.

"You said you were going to release him from that thing," Jack hissed at him, through clenched teeth.

Bilis looked at him, a bored expression on his face, "Worry balls," he announced, suddenly.

"What!" Jack yelled back at him.

"You need to relieve tension, or you'll end up with a stroke, or a heart attack," Bilis glanced at him,"Or will you?" he enquired, folding is arms across his chest, and considering the options.

Bilis Manger relaxed when Jack's anger finally rose, it had taken rather longer than he had expected, but he was relieved that he had finally succeeded in goading him enough to make him react. Gwen did exactly what he had expected her to do. Owen, was curious enough to get distracted by anything new, his current state was keeping his mind off everything else. With the others intent on other things, he had managed to give himself a little breathing space to plan- never a bad thing.

Torchwood four had seemed a perfect solution, to have it suddenly snatched away from him was something he hadn't expected. Retrieving Owen from the reactor had taken slightly longer than he had anticipated, by the time he was safely at Torchwood four, his body had already reached the final stages of breakdown. Thankfully because of the way the place existed, Owen had been safe enough, until the time slip, then their safe haven had turned into a death trap. All he could do was provide Owen with an emergency life boat and hope for the best.

The arrival of the two from Torchwood, was a piece of luck that he hadn't bargained for.

Gwen watched as Jack's face turned bright red and he began to move threateningly towards the other man. Instinctively putting herself between them, she began to try and push Jack backwards, and away from Bilis.

"Just ignore him, you know what he's like," she said, finally succeeding in getting him to back away.

Jack pulled away from Gwen, still seething.

Suddenly staring at Owen, he asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

Owen was standing with his head at a slight angle, his finger in his ear. Slowly pulling it back out again, he shrugged and said, "Just thought I'd see if it would go in any further than usual."

Jack shook his head, he just couldn't believe it! "Any minute now I'm going to wake up, and all this, will just be a bad dream."

"I bloody well wish!" Owen added in agreement, "But the way my life... make that existence, has gone lately, somehow I doubt it!"

"I hate to interrupt, but do you think there's even a slim chance we may be able to escape this field within the next few hours?" Bilis enquired, wearily.

Jack turned as if to reply to him, then stopped,puzzled, "I know you said you were putting right something I'd screwed up," he said, watching the other man intently, in the hope of working out what he was up to.

Bilis murmured something, then turned his attention back to trying to remove a fleck of dirt from his jacket.

Folding his arms across his chest, Jack glanced idly down at the floor, then said, "Don't suppose it has anything to do with Owen being dead at a particular point in time, does it?"

Bilis's neck jerked sharply back, and he glared at Jack, clearly angry at being questioned about his motives, "I think," he said, "It would be more pertinent, to ask exactly _why_ you chose to resurrect the boy in the first place, don't you?"

Jack glared at him, Gwen immediately glanced towards Owen, who, having got the gist of the conversation, was moving closer, wanting to know the answer to that himself.

"What's done is done," Gwen said quickly, then wished she hadn't, as everyone stared at her. "Well it is, isn't it?" she said, nervously. "We should be getting on, we have to sort out Owen, sooner the better," she glanced over at Bilis, "Right?"

Bilis smirked back at her, "Oh yes dear, definitely."

Gwen gave a positive nod of her head, "Good, well let's go then, Jack?"

Jack nodded, reluctantly agreeing with her, "Yeah, why not."

Looking suddenly relieved, Bilis smiled, "Wonderful, so where is this car thing of yours?"

Jack smirked, "Ooh, about mile and a half- thatta way," he said, pointing back the way they had come.

"What!" Owen joined in suddenly, "Walking, in this bloody thing... you have got to be joking!"

"Owen, love, we can't get it up here, it's too narrow," Gwen said, smiling back at him.

Bilis smirked, opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, then seeing Jack's expression, changed his mind, and said,"Good! Well I think perhaps we should get going, don't you?"

"Oh, definitely!" Hissed Jack, as he passed him, "Tempus fugit."

Bilis raised his eyebrows, "If only you knew," he murmured.

Jack waited until Bilis's attention was on Owen, then he nudged Gwen's arm, "Stick with Owen, try and find out what happened, I'll do the same with Bilis."

Gwen nodded, and moved to one side as Bilis walked past, smiling at her, he said, "Waiting for Owen are you dear?" then straightened his cravat and paused beside Jack, "It would appear to be you and I, Captain."

Jack didn't smile, just held out his hand, gesturing for Bilis to go first.

"Oh, no, dear boy, after you,"he replied.

Jack shrugged and took the lead, Bilis following just behind him, Gwen and Owen, tagging along after them.

. . . .

Inevitably, Jack and Bilis easily outstripped the pace of Gwen and Owen, struggling along behind them. Glancing back and finally satisfied that there was enough distance between them, to make sure that they couldn't be over heard, Jack looked at Bilis and said, "So exactly what is all this interest in Owen?"

Bilis looked up at him in mock surprise, "I could ask **you** the same question."

Jack smiled back at him, clearly amused, "You could, but I asked first."

Bilis, shook his head, "You of all people, Captain, should know that some things in the future are best kept there, and not allowed to... leak backwards," he said, looking Jack straight in the eye, and holding his gaze until he looked away. Satisfied that he had won that round at least, Bilis relaxed a little and glanced back towards Owen and Gwen.

"So what exactly do you intend to do with Owen?" Jack asked, hoping that some idea of what the other man was planning, might suggest why he was going to all this trouble.

"I can use this," he said, taking a small brass coloured disk from his pocket, and holding it up between his finger and thumb.

Jack peered at it, there seemed to be writing on it, but it was too small to see, at it's centre was a symbol, that looked like a squashed horse shoe, when he leaned closer, to get a better look at it, Bilis smirked and shook his head, then returned the disk to his pocket.

"Some things, are best left alone," he said airily, tapping the outside of his pocket, then added, "You asked _what_, not how."

"Okay, _what_ are you going to do?" Jack repeated.

Bilis sighed, "I'm going to do what I always intended to do, dear boy,"he simpered, "What are you going to do?"

Jack sighed, resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to get any information out of Bilis until he was good and ready, he could only hope that Gwen was having more luck with Owen.

"It would seem that I'm the designated driver," Jack said.

Owen struggled along beside Gwen, "This is bloody ridiculous, it's like wading through treacle," he grumbled, stopping yet again to try and regain some energy.

"What happened at the reactor?" Gwen asked.

"I dunno really," he said vaguely, "I thought, _this is it_, and then suddenly there was a bright light, and I remember thinking, maybe they're wrong." Owen paused, just lately he had found fact and fantasy had been blending together alarmingly, the longer it went on the more unsure he was becoming of actual events.

"It was Bilis?" she said, prompting him gently.

"Yeah, I think so, next thing I remember is standing in the middle of an office, turned out it was Torchwood four."

Gwen, her curiosity peaked, immediately asked, "What was it like?"

"Just like any office really, not like the hub, their computers aren't like ours, and it's more modern, not as modern as Torchwood one though," he said.

"Then what happened?"

Owen began slowly moving again, "Bilis kept going on about going back to the Pharm and getting me back into my own body."

Gwen smiled, suddenly some of the things Bilis had said made sense, he had been intending to get Owen back to a time before he had been shot, so when he left again he would be alive, and then his timeline would change... but so would everyone else's!

Jack and Bilis reached the SUV, then turned and waited for Gwen and Owen to catch up.

The two stood in silence waiting, finally Jack said, "So exactly where do you need to be taken to?"

"As near to the Pharm as possible," Bilis said, surprised, as if it was perfectly obvious. "Then once he's away, we just wait."

"Wait? For what?" asked Jack.

"Hopefully, nothing at all," said Bilis.

Jack blinked, baffled, "I don't..."

Bilis sighed, "If it works, then this time line disappears, and us with it," then added, "Ah, here they are, we can get moving now!" He said, turning, and pulling at the door handle of the SUV.

Jack paused, for a second he and Bilis glared at each other, then Jack smiled, said, "Make yourself comfortable," and released the door lock.

Bilis blinked,sniffed, and swung open the door, climbed in and settled himself in the front passenger seat.

Jack waited as Gwen and Owen settled themselves, then turned on the engine and drove off towards the Pharm.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

Owen sat, his head slightly bowed, staring in the general direction of his knees.

Gwen was on the seat next to him, gazing blankly out of the side window of the SUV. If this plan of Bilis's worked, Owen would be back, alive and well, and it would be before her wedding. The words kept going round and round in her head. Why should it matter? When she and Rhys had announced their engagement Owen had been his normal self, it hadn't stopped that had it? So why on _earth _should the logical progression from it bother her?

"How's Tosh?" Owen asked, suddenly.

Surprised, Gwen hesitated and panicked, "Um, why?" Was the only thing she would think of to say.

"No particular reason," Owen said, vaguely, "It's just, the last time I spoke to her, she was having problems with her arm."

Gwen had automatically turned towards Owen when he asked about Tosh, playing for time, she looked back towards the window, what the hell could she tell him?

"She never mentioned anything," she said.

Jack glanced in the rear view mirror, he could just make out the top of Owen's head, as it bounced up and down piecemeal, with the movement of the SUV.

"You okay, Owen?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, I suppose," Owen said, then added, "She better hadn't have been overdoing those painkillers, they're only for emergency use."

Jack gulped, desperately scrabbling around for something to say, that would stop Owen from pushing for more answers about Toshiko.

"She's not had any kind of painkillers since the night you... left," he said, quietly.

Gwen looked towards him, hoping that he had accepted Jack's response and would now change the subject.

"Glad to hear it- don't like the idea of her turning into a raving addict," Owen said, then suddenly asked Gwen, "Does looking at me make you feel seasick?"

Gwen grinned, "Funny you should say that!"

Owen sighed, "Oh great! I'm just thankful I can't feel all the bits banging together. Bilis, how much bloody longer?"

Bilis Manger glanced idly towards Jack, then looked at Owen, "I think you should be asking the driver that, don't you?"

"Funny you should ask," Jack said, steering the SUV up the curb and onto a grass verge.

"I'll be outside," Bilis said suddenly, pushing open the door, then stepping down, he closed the door behind him and turned his back.

The door had barely closed, when Jack turned towards Owen, "Do you trust him?" he asked, quickly.

Owen gave (what for him) passed as a shrug, "Not got a lot of choice really, have I?" he said.

"You could come back to Torchwood," murmured Gwen, not sounding very convincing.

"Yeah course! Brilliant idea, or maybe I could go on a country wide tour, make nausea a national pastime," he said.

Gwen sighed, "I didn't mean... I meant..." Gwen stopped, what exactly did she mean? come back and hide- until what? She shook her head. "Sorry."

"It's alright, look on the bright side, your wedding gets fixed, I get my life back... hell, even Tosh's arm gets sorted! I'm not quite sure what _you'd_ get out of it," Owen said, seemingly looking at Jack, "But I'm sure there'll be something."

Jack smiled briefly, "I'm sure there will," he said.

Owen reached out towards the door handle, then stopped, "I think maybe someone is going to have to do the honours."

Gwen leaned across and opened the door for him, then moved back, "I don't know what to say," she murmured, avoiding looking directly at him.

Owen didn't respond, just got out of the SUV, Gwen moved to close the door, as she gripped the handle, she heard Owen's voice mumble, "You never do."

**. . . .**

"Said all your fond farewells?" Bilis enquired, taking the bronze disk from his pocket as he moved closer.

"If you can call them that," Owen said.

Bilis ignored him, and concentrated on the disk, "First things first, we get rid of the time bubble, the body will only last a couple of seconds once it's gone, and whatever you do, dear boy, **don't** move, I need to know exactly where you are."

Owen glanced down at his hand, "I've go no intention of going anywhere," he mumbled back.

"Glad to hear it!" Bilis ran his thumb across the back of the disk and it began to hum softly, "Ready?"

"Get on with it."

**. . . .**

Inside the SUV, Gwen leaned forwards, watching what was going on outside, without realising it she was gripping the headrest of the seat in front tightly. "I wish _anyone_ but Bilis was doing this!"

"You and me both," Jack said, sighing, and watching in fascination, as the disk in Bilis's hand, glowed, then transformed.

A semi circular dome appeared over a portion of it's surface, multi coloured flecks of light blinked, then Bilis cupped his hand around it and seemed to say something.

The shimmering field that surrounded Owen began to glow very faintly, then it was gone.

The fragmented pieces of Owen's body, seemed to make one, final, attempt to integrate properly, then collapsed, briefly into dust, then to nothing at all.

Bilis turned the disk over quickly, then tapped it's centre, glancing towards the place where he had last seen Owen standing, "I take it your still there?" He enquired.

"Yep! Although... I don't feel any different," Owen said, puzzled that he still seemed to be able to feel the ground beneath his feet, and was still seeing Bilis (and everything else) from the same height off the ground that he always had.

Bilis, shrugged, preoccupied with activating the other side of the disk, "Think amputee," he said, vaguely.

Owen said nothing, Bilis looked up, briefly, then went back to work, leaving Owen to think through the concept.

"So, it's like when someone loses a leg or a foot, they can still feel it,"Owen's voice suddenly commented, "Only it's all of my body."

"That's right," said Bilis, finally satisfied with the changes he had made to the disk, "Don't forget you can't touch anything, you may think your at the same height as before, but there is nothing between you and the ground."

"But anyone can hear my voice?"

Bilis nodded, "You haven't too much time, the sooner you get near enough to your body to be integrated the better, but you **must** have completed whatever is necessary to make the changes first, once your inside your body you won't be able to influence it in any way until the time line changes, and once it has..."

"I won't remember any of this," finished off Owen.

"I'm about to send you in," Bilis said, pausing, in case Owen wanted to say anything.

Owen's voice suddenly said, "I should say thank you."

Bilis shook his head, "No need, dear boy," he said, then activated the disk.

It glowed, brilliant white, for a split second, then transformed back into a dull bronze coin. "It's I who should be thanking you," Bilis murmured.

**. . . .**

A brief sensation of visual distortion was all that Owen was aware of, as he was transported back to the treatment room of the Pharm. The room was noisy and chaotic, everything that was happening around him was familiar- he'd lived through this before.

Owen stood watching his old self, as he desperately checked drips and filled a syringe, moving rapidly around Martha, preparing her for what he was about to attempt. He glanced towards Jack, who was having a rather pointed conversation with Doctor Copley.

Now came the difficult part, he had no body, and couldn't gauge properly exactly where he was, although _weirdly_ he had the sensation of walking and the touch of the floor beneath his feet. Not that it mattered, he couldn't collide with anything, even if he did misjudge things, but he did have to get as close to Jack as possible and make sure that his potential killer was restrained, before he managed to complete his task!

Getting as close as possible, he murmured, "Jack, do us a favour, make sure he doesn't do a runner will you? I'll need to talk to him later, and make sure he isn't armed."

Jack didn't turn, he just presumed that Owen had become nervous enough about Copley to briefly interrupt caring for Martha to warn him, he didn't bother to ask why.

Jack moved towards Copley, "Up," he ordered, then began checking for weapons.

Doctor Copley smiled benignly at Jack, holding his hands up in the air and then rotating them back and forth, "Do I _look_ like a man who would bear arms?" he murmured, cheerfully.

"Restrain him, so he can't go walkabout," Owen whispered, trying to make sure that his other self couldn't hear him.

Jack smirked, "With the greatest of pleasure," he said, then pushed Copley into a chair and looked around for something to manacle him to.

Spotting a trolley, stacked with surgical bowls, he hooked it towards them, "That will do nicely," he said, clipping the handcuffs closed around one of the legs, "It may not be fixed, but you move an inch and I'll hear you, and if I do..." Jack pushed his coat back, far enough to give the other man a clear view of his gun holster, "Okay?" he enquired.

Copley nodded and shrugged, clearly thinking that, for now, it would be best to do as he was told.

Owen stood, watching himself, then turned to make sure that Copley was still there-he showed no sign of intending to go anywhere.

There had to be a point when he could get back into his own body. He watched, as the other him began to calibrate the scalpel, now wasn't a good time, anything that distracted his attention from that scalpel could be fatal for Martha- he waited.

Looking back, briefly, towards Copley, for a final time, he then watched himself as he called Jack for help with Martha, he was preparing to use the scalpel.

Her body convulsed.

Suddenly, he knew it was now or never, hurtling towards his body, Owen dived towards his target.

Owen Harper froze, for a split second, unsure if he had killed Martha or not, as she revived he felt a sharp, burning sensation inside his chest, he gasped for air, then blinked, puzzled, it lasted for an instant, then was gone.

They were evacuating the room. Jack released Copley from the handcuffs, then manhandled him outside.

Owen's attention was now on Martha, supporting her, he waited for a few seconds, then followed them.

**. . . .**

Outside in the car park, Ianto was leaning into the driver's side of the Land Rover, pulling out the equipment that they had used to get past the security gate, with Gwen's help the body was moved into the boot. He turned in time to see Jack, arriving with doctor Copley.

Ianto opened the door, and Jack shoved Copley inside.

"Stay put," he warned him, then turned back towards Owen and Martha.

Owen suddenly stopped, then shivered.

Jack noticed, "You Okay?"

"Yeah." Owen blinked and then shrugged, "Someone just walked over my grave."

Turning to Martha, Owen helped her, then climbed in beside her, smiled briefly at her to check that she was alright, then ducked his head, as he looked to see where the others were.

"Couple more minutes, this place will be history," Jack murmured. "Everyone here?" he asked, slipping into the driving seat, and watching Ianto, settling himself into the passenger seat beside him .

Those in the back, moved as much as they could, to make room for Toshiko, as she got in and slammed the door closed behind her.

"Yep, all present and correct," Owen confirmed.

"Good! " Jack replied, "Lets go home,"

The borrowed Land Rover drove off into the night, leaving explosions and mayhem in it's wake.

Carrying one of them towards a renewed life, and the rest? New possibilities!

**The End**


End file.
